All Entries Tagged With: "UNESCO World Heritage"
Italy: Pisa
Because we were “in the neighbourhood”, I really wanted to have a peek at Pisa. We did Rick Steve’s walk from the train station through the town to the Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), where the Leaning Tower is located. We spent half a day in Pisa and half a day in Lucca. I’ll show [...]
A Tale of Two German Cathedrals, Three Wise Men, and One Roman Emperor
Kölner Dom in Cologne, Germany The Cologne Cathedral sits on the bank of the Rhine river. It was built in stages over 600 years (1248-1880)! According to Wikipedia, it was the tallest structure in the world for four years until the Washington Monument was completed in 1884. Did you know that 95% of Cologne was [...]
Kew Gardens, England (Part II)
Continuing our tour of Kew… Part I can be found here. This beautiful home was built in 1631 for Samuel Fortrey, a rich merchant. The royal family leased the house in 1728, and used it as a family retreat during the time of King George III. Today, you can tour this home. I’d like to go [...]
Kew Garden, England (Part I)
On Tuesday, my good friend S and I visited the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This year, the garden is celebrating its 250th birthday! The garden is huge: 121 hectares or 300 acres. We were there for three hours and probably saw less than half of it. And we were being [...]
Poland: Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
Last night before I went to bed, I happened to glace at our wall calendar in the kitchen. There, in tiny letters, I saw the words “Holocaust Memorial Day” on today’s square. I have never heard of this, have you? Apparently, it was first marked in the UK in 2001 to remember the victims of [...]
Poland: Wieliczka Salt Mine (Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka)
We were lucky with the weather during our time in Poland. It only rained once! And happily for us, it was the day we decided to visit the salt mines. What better place to spend a cold, drippy day? “The Salt Mine Wieliczka is the oldest salt enterprise on Polish land dating back to the [...]
A Leisurely Day in Bruges, Belgium
Pretty Bruges is less than an hour from Brussels on the train. The only other European city I’ve seen so far that can hold a candle to this beautiful town is Annecy, France. Mr. DJ says Bruges is pretty darned cute. That’s an understatement, of course. Coincidentally, Rick Steves blogged about this town in a [...]
Strolling through Brussels, Belgium
Our first stop on our trip last week was in Bruxelles or Brussels, Belgium. One of Mr. DJ’s colleagues said that “Brussels reveals her charms slowly.” Hmmm. I don’t know. I thought the old girl was pretty charming from the get go. Although my opinion might have been swayed by where we stayed…. The Conrad. [...]
